As I gear up to head off to a creative conference (Alt Summit!) next week, I find myself thinking back to an amazing workshop I was lucky to be a part of last year. When devastating wildfires ravaged northern California last fall, the Sonoma valley resort slated to host the Firefly Institute photography retreat was evacuated less than 2 days before the event was to commence. Over the course of 24 hours, a community of creative women put their heads together and reimagined what this time could look like. It looked a little something like this – beautiful, fluid and unexpected…

Under the fearless leadership of Camp Director, Pam Sogge, we pulled off a three day “pop-up” workshop that included all but those traveling from afar + special guests from New Zealand and Denmark who had already arrived in California. There were beautifully prepared dinners in local homes, a daytime workshop hub and teachers who adeptly re-designed classes to match the environment.

Meghan Davidson flew in from Nebraska to share her self-portrait expertise and more…

Instagram influencer, Pei Ketron, came down from San Francisco to chat all things mobile photography…

I was delighted to teach my Photo Book Design class surrounded by all of my personal books to call upon as examples (thanks for the photo, Jen!)…

Laurie Klein came from Connecticut and challenged us to identify our unique style & voice…

Lighting guru extraordinaire Michelle Turner drove up from L.A and I pinched myself as she wandered around my backyard pointing out ideal lighting locations…

We danced, the dog posed, and everyone left with full goodie bags and hearts…

Happily, the fires did not damage Westerbeke Ranch and this gorgeous spot will be hosting the upcoming Firefly Institute in April. Check out more pictures from my 2016 camp experience here or simply trust me – you will not be disappointed if you say yes to this adventure. This experience encapsulates the best of everything I believe in – creative women coming together to design a community for learning and supporting each other – it doesn’t get any better than that.

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Finally got some snow last week and it inspired me to share a little book I made last winter. My son and I had a great long weekend at Mammoth Mountain and on the way home I began pulling together a few favorite moments from our trip. Can you believe the cover photo was taken with my iPhone? 🙌🏻 Portrait Mode.

I’m pretty sure he will thank me for this photo someday…

Half of the fun of an away tournament of any kind are the hotel antics…

This book tells the story of a special moment in time when all of my son’s hard work paid off and he celebrated with his coaches and the rest of the supportive community from our home mountain. When he said these sweet words to me at bedtime on Sunday night, I knew right then this book was going to happen…

Monday morning, I captured the photo above of his hardware and sent the book off to print. 8×8 from Nowvel – great product from a great company. It was a fun surprise when the book arrived and my son could indeed, in a small way, relive that weekend again and again. Celebrate and document your successes, friends!